Fictional Writer.

Dallas and Jenna stood away from each other, giving them plenty of room to have a Pokemon Battle. The fallen leaves danced between them, giving each small gust of wind a different color it seemed like, reminding Dallas of a song from a childhood movie. Dallas had already been beat by Jenna once before, but he had no intentions on losing this time.

Dallas nodded, "Alright then. Let's go Freeze!" Dallas called, throwing his own pokeball out. Both pokemon appeared in a brilliant flash. Dallas knew he had the advantage, but that wasn't always useful.

Jenna started the battle, commanding Noibat to use gust. Noibat unleashed the attack, causing leaves to spin all around the battlefield. It inflicted some damage to the white Vulpix, but as soon as it stopped, Dallas commanded her use Powder Snow. The snow blasted through the flying leaves, hitting Noibat. But that didn't stop the dragon bat. Jenna commanded it to use tackle, but this time Vulpix dodged and used dark pulse. The attack hit, causing Noibat to crash to the ground. Noibat used absorb, taking some energy from Vulpix. Then the bat dragon used Bite, but before it could get to Vulpix, she unleashed a Moonblast. The brilliant light engulfed the bat and it fell to the ground, unable to battle. Vulpix stood proud, but breathing hard.

Dallas started the battle by telling Volt to charge. Jenna took advantage of the non attack and used Flame Wheel. Volt's body glowed with electricity and flames engulfed Ponyta. The Ponyta collided with Volt, but then the zebra pokemon used Shock Wave, throwing the fire horse backwards. Ponyta used tackle and Volt used quick attack. The two horse pokemon charged at each other, Volt made contact first, but it didn't stop Ponyta from attacking. Volt used shock wave, but Ponyta managed to dodge it, throwing leaves up everywhere as it hit the ground. Ponyta then used ember. The attack hit Volt, but he still stood strong. Ponyta use tackle again, while Volt use quick attack. The attacks sent up another swirl of colorful leaves, but when the leaves thinned, Volt was unable to battle. Ponyta stood, but was tired.

"That was an really cool battle! I wish I had been filming it with all the leaves flying!" Jenna smiled, "Ponyta return."

Dallas looked at the battlefield, making sure there was no fires from the battle. It probably wasn't very smart to be battling in a forest during autumn, but thankfully, there was still a small amount dew on the leaves.

"Guess it is time to show my new pokemon." Jenna called. "Mareep let's go!"

"An electric type! You finally got one!"

"Yep!" Jenna smiled.

"Ok then, Siege, come on out!" Dallas called. Both pokemon appeared.

Jenna started the battle out with a Charge and in a similar style. Dallas took advantage of the non attack with a tackle. But Jenna smiled and called Mareep to use Iron Tail. Dallas was taken by surprise and the Mareep's tail glowed and it swung around, hitting Siege. Dallas then told the Siege to use Iron Head and it hit Mareep, sending it rolling in the leaves. Both pokemon then used tackles, hitting each other. Mareep then used cotton spore, slowing the Gible down. Siege used Sand-Attack, but it missed. Mareep used Iron Tail again and Siege used Iron Head. Both attacks collided, knocking down of them out.

"Return!" Both trainers called, thanking there pokemon, but the brought out their Vulpix and Ponyta again.

Both trained were really excited as they both smiled, having fun. They didn't speak this time. As they started calling out commands.

Ponyta used Ember and Freeze used Powder Snow. The attacks canceled each of them out. Freeze used Dark Pulse, but Ponyta dodged it as it used flame wheel, hitting the Vulpix hard. However, Freeze wasn't ready to give up yet and used Hidden Power, colliding with the flame horse. Both pokemon were near defeat. Jenna and Dallas looked and nodded at one another. Ponyta used Flamethrower and Freeze used Moonblast. The two attacks met in the middle and instantly exploded.

Dallas put his arms up to shield himself from the leaves and other debris that had been sent flying by the shock wave. His jacked blew in the wind and the ground shook for a few seconds, but then settled down. Any wild pokemon that had been around, probably retreated from the surrounding area. Once the dust settled, all of the leaves that had been covering the clearing, were now on the outside or inside the woods. Both pokemon were downs and unable to battle, ending the battle in a draw. Jenna and Dallas returned their pokemon.

Both of them fell on the ground, as they too were try to catch their breath, as if they were the ones that had done the battling. They waited to catch their breath before speaking.

“Please, if I didn’t think I could take a punch from an old, hungover woman I wouldn’t have asked.” Rylie scoffed. “However, getting over it was only part of the reason. In all honesty, I genuinely have no idea why I felt the need to mess with you. Was kind of hoping you could knock the reason into me to be frank. I guess I can understand you not trusting me though.”

“However…” Rylie began, her somewhat shameful look turning into a bit of a glare. “What I don’t understand is how you can suggest we blow off finals like that, especially when they’re so close! Like, seriously, are you kidding me!? You even admitted earlier in the class that your failure to study lost you that league match yet you’re honestly going to suggest we make the same mistake!?“

Rylie’s voice rose, her tone sounding much more upset as she continued. “What if they take your advice and fail, what then!? Will they be kicked out of school or will failure be the norm!? I’ve been harassed enough for doing well in school! I don’t want it to happen here as well!” Rylie finished, her eyes tearing up somewhat as she continued giving Samantha an angry look.

Fictional Writer.

Dallas and Jenna continued to sit on the ground for a few minutes. The sweat on their faces were making it colder that it actually was, due to the wind coming from the surrounding forest. It was a completely different temperature from their adventure in the mountain caves that were very humid. They both checked on their pokemon to make sure they were all ok. One Dallas used 3 of his potions on them, they were fine, but needed rest. Dallas also wasn't too worried since he had Edge still at full health if anything attacked them.

The forest was silent, recovering from the collision of attacks that had happened between their pokemon. The air was fresh with sent of the approaching winter. Dallas wished he had Blaze back, but he was still with Dallas' mother and probably wouldn't be reunited for a while. After the forest pokemon started moving around once again, Jenna and Dallas got up off the cool ground. They walked over to an old fallen tree, taking a seat beside each other. Jenna removed a bottle of water from her pack and took a sip.

"Did you bring any?" Jenna asked, finishing half the water.

"No, you called right after a.... very interesting class." Dallas replied, smirking a bit.

Jenna handed her bottle over, "Here." she said, handing the bottle over to Dallas, "Take the rest of it. I have more in my pack."

Dallas nodded and without a thought, took a drink from the same bottle. He, Jenna and Megami had trusted one another so much, that they got used to sharing their drinks. He finished the rest of the water, placing the empty bottle in his bag.

"Did you not go to class again today?" Dallas asked.

"No. I didn't feel like going today." Jenna answered.

"You are going to end of failing your classes. You will never get boosted to Suicune." Dallas replied.

"I've been focusing on classes that I need for what I want to do. To me, that is all that matters. It isn't like I am completely ignoring classes, just focused on certain ones. So missing one or two classes every now and then isn't too big of a deal as long as I am passing." Jenna countered.

Dallas laughed, "Ironically, that is exactly what the teacher said today."

Jenna laughed and they continued to catch up for a few minutes. Telling each other what they had used their money on from the bake sell that they had on Halloween. Dallas currently had around 40,000 Poke Dollars from his birthday and the bake sell. He knew that it wouldn't go too far though, especially if he bought more TMs. However, he didn't really have any intention of buying more.

"I need to head to Oak Town to buy some items once we get done. You said you wanted to show me something, what was it?" Dallas asked.

Jenna smiled, "Well I know that you like cooking and want to be a chef. If I had to guess, you probably want to work with Megami in the future as well."

Dallas' face reddened a bit, "I mean we did make an awesome team. "

"Yall did! However, I wanted to give you a push. You haven't cooked in a while and you have also been talking about battling, not to mention with both really enjoyed today's battle. So I wanted to show you this." Jenna brought out a Pinab Tablet, undoubtedly what she had used her money on. Dallas leaned over to see her navigating through different tabs and finally finding a video, and hitting play.

The video showed a video of a trainer who was using a Greninja and Sceptile. He had a large smile on his face and he wore a darker clothing. Beside him, there was a girl using a Noivern and Braviary. She had glasses and wore light clothing. She had a laptop and her hand and they were battling together. They were facing off against two older men who looked like they were twins and looked like conductors. The battle looked like it was on a train and was moving at a pretty high speed. Around the battlefield, was people watching while eating food.

"What is this?" Dallas asked, intrigued.

"This is called the Battle Subway. It's a type of battle facility in Nimbasa City, which is just north of my hometown. Trainer will battle too try to be the Twin Conductors. The two people battleing reminded me of you in Megami when yall did the Food Battle side by side. Their names are Ariane Dracon and Dalex Yukashi. They used to go to this school. In fact, you have Ariane's old room." Jenna announced.

"It is interesting I will admit and looks fun, but what does this have to do with me cooking?" Dallas asked, looking up from the screen.

"Well if you were going to, you wouldn't have told me now would you have? Now let me finish!" Jenna huffed, taking her finger away.

Jenna and Dallas one typically pick fun at each other like this. It had been normal for them to do so since their meeting. Finally Jenna got around to explaining.

"It gave me an idea. You and Megami both love cooking. If you did what you wanted to do, you would have to travel a lot, but she wants a cafe. Right? I also think you both have also gained a level of love for battling." Jenna aid, looking at Dallas.

"True." Dallas nodded.

"Well, why not make something that suits everything? If you were to maybe get a boat, you could travel all over the world and both you and Megami could have a cafe, while traveling for your Food Battles career. You could also have battle tournaments or something similar to the Battle Subway, but on a ship! You could even use the ocean or small islands to battle!" Jenna exclaimed.

Dallas' eyes began to light up at the idea, in fact, it was a fantastic idea and definitely a way to surpass his father. Instead of being stationary, he could travel. He could just image how people would act if an exclusive cafe, bakery or restaurant pulled into port. They could travel to different regions. Dallas and Megami could become partners and have Food Battles together. Not only that, but he could have normal tournaments or something while they were on the go. It would be amazing!

The wind started to blow, leaves whirling around the opening once more. Dallas returned from his thoughts, "I love the idea Jenna. If you wanted, you could even travel around as a Journalist and follow your own career. We could make it our own thing! If we got enough friends, we could even have our own Elite 4.... well bosses, nothing can compare to the Elite 4."

Dallas, Megami and Jenna had all made an excellent team during the bake sell. If Dallas could form his own team, like most chefs had anyway, it could be amazing. In fact, Dallas took out his own notebook that he normally used for cooking recipes and began to write down ideas. The two of them continued to speak for a few minutes until finally Dallas.

"I probably should start heading to Oak Town Jenna, do you want to come?" Dallas asked.

"No. I think I am going to stay here a bit longer. Thanks for the offer though. Also, take this for yourself." Jenna said, handing him a full bottle of water.

"Thanks. It will be good to have something to drink." Dallas accepted the bottle.

They gave each other a quick hug and wave good bye. With that, Dallas began to walk through the forest once more.

Sammy leaned back against the desk and listened to Rylie present what was halfway between a reasoned point and a tirade. She didn't seem to have any emotional reaction to the younger girls words but it was clear she gave her answer time and thought before delivering it. "You're right," she nodded.

"By most standards the advice I gave isn't very responsible. I'm not a very responsible person really and I'm a terrible person to choose to give you kids the kind of advice you've been getting all year. So I have to figure that I'm not here to give you that advice, I'm here to give you the other kind. Your Finals are important, I guess, they help shape your path here at the Academy. My point was, and I probably made a Tepig's ear of making it, it doesn't matter after this place unless you're going into an academic field, right? Gyms don't check your transcripts and Contests will only use where you placed in your class as a statistic for a quick soundbite. So if you're not hoping to go into a job where your grades matter, don't stress about your grades. Give it what you got, sure, but don't run yourself into the ground over something that isn't your goal. If it is though then go for it and show everyone you're the best at what you do."

She sighed and started cracking her knuckles, an absent-minded habit rather than a threatening posture. "But like I said, you're right. I ain't the best Trainer, I'm sure not the best Teacher. I'm just Sammy Cooper, and I'm sorry that ain't good enough kid. I'm just saying what I think same as you are right now. You're gonna find there's times in your life you come up short and I don't have a problem admittin' I probably did today. I stand by what I said but I coulda said it better. Maybe shouldn't have even said it at all, all things considered, but I hope one of you takes something from it. So, you're welcome to take a swing at me if you want, for whatever that'll do. Or you can tell me what it is your focus is and maybe I figure out a way to help you with it," she shrugged, "so it's your call. Words or fists kid?"

***

Sydney and her team reached Oak Town in fair time, she was still in fairly good shape for not running as much as she normally did. Her team on the other hand wasn't faring quite so well. Miko was relatively okay being naturally fast and agile but the distance was a lot longer on her stubby legs. Faustus was, of course, completely the same as when they had started since Sydney wasn't even sure his levitation took any real effort for him. Smiler on the other hand was panting for air, staggering along the last few steps as he struggled to keep up while Titania was riding on his head and buzzing in her sleep. The Cutiefly had flown for as much as she could but those tiny wings were not designed for any great distances.

"Good job everyone!" Sydney said as she popped the cap on her water bottle. "Come on and get something to drink, you have to hydrate after a run like that."

Miko took her share of water with the manners of the polite Pokemon she sometimes pretended to be, while Smiler grabbed the bottle with both hands and started guzzling the water like he'd never had a drink before in his life. He ended up falling onto his back, still gasping for air, with his little belly distended from the amount he had chugged. Titania buzzed off his head with a squeak of rage, furious at having been disturbed. Sydney made sure to pour a little water into her cupped hand so that Titania could shlurp some up. Faustus floated there. Little alien weirdo.

"That was a great run guys, you did a great job. We're going to try and do this more often, okay? Don't look at me like that Smiler! You caused plenty of chaos in my room at Halloween but we need to work on your stamina. Yours too Titania. I know it's tough for both of you right now but I... I promise, I... I want you guys to be the best you can be!" They all looked at her, a little concerned as she got choked up. She cleared her throat and shook her head, composing herself. "Sorry, I guess I just realised in class. I've been so worried about myself, about how I look to everyone and being the best in class and, I mean, I suppose that's just part of who I am but it isn't fair on all of you! I want everyone to know that all of you are the best too! So I'm going to make sure to give all of you as much time as I give myself. Because that's what I want to do, I want to help my Pokemon be the very best, no matter what Pokemon they are."

Miko quickly scampered up Sydney onto her shoulder and nuzzled into her and Titania gave a celebratory loop in the air. Faustus flashed a rapid and complex series of lights, whatever that might mean, and Smiler wheezed out a quiet 'Eye Sableye' and gave a shaky thumbs up from the ground. Sydney couldn't help but laugh at the support they were showing her, all for her showing them support! The run had really helped clear her head about what she wanted to do and that was still to be the best. But there was no way she was going to limit herself to being the best at just one thing!

Rylie simply stood there stared down Samantha as she awaited her response, Half of her upset with herself for spilling her heart out like that, the other half still livid with this woman. Finally, she got her response, a simple two words that sent Rylie straight from fuming to confused in an instant. “Excuse me, what was that?” she said with a genuine look of surprise on her face.

As she listened to Samantha speak however, the look on Rylie’s face slowly changed from surprised, to curious, to skeptical. Finally presented with the choice at the end, Rylie pondered for a moment, carefully considering what she said next. When she finally came to her answer, she quietly let out a large breath in attempt to calm herself down, knowing nothing will result of getting angry again. “I choose neither.” She said rather flatly, reaching into her coat pocket.

“While I agree with you that perhaps the grades themselves may not be that important, it’s what you pick up in the process that actually counts.” From her coat pocket, Rylie pulls out a Pokéball and give it a look over, reassuring to herself it’s the right one. “A few months ago, I didn’t know a thing about Pokémon breeding, nor did I care to learn anything more than what I needed to get a decent grade. In all honestly, I still don’t care that much. If I understand your advice correctly that means I shouldn’t have bothered with it. After all, it’s not like I plan on going into breeding.”

With a gentle toss, Rylie released the Pokémon from its ball, the small, joyful little dino appearing with a flash of red light, the temperature in the room beginning to drop in the process. Curiously, he began to look over this new human in the room, both happy and shy to meet this new person. “This is Taiga, he just hatched this morning.” Rylie explained, keeping a half eye on Taiga ensuring he didn’t cause any trouble. “Now my parents are Geologists, so perhaps it’s just how I was raised to think, but I’ve always been able to use at least some of the information I’ve learned while studying, As for the whole breeding thing. Whether I’ll use it in the future or not, I have Taiga here on my team because of it. This isn't the only thing I've picked up through studying either, just the one I can show off the easiest.”

Rylie tilted her head a bit as she finished speaking, now much calmer than she was when she began. “I guess that’s the gist of it though. Feel free to call me a stupid kid for it if you want but it’s just how I’ve been doing things up till now, and at least to me it seems like it’s working.” She said, rolling her shoulder out of habit. For a moment it seemed as if she was done speaking but quickly spoke up again after a short pause. “Actually, you know what? Let me give you another reason to call me a stupid kid and follow through with that promise I made earlier.” She started again with a bit of a smirk. “Not today, but sometime, before I graduate, I want that battle you promised. “